Mixing and juice extracting machine



1934- H. c. WRIGHT I MIXING AND JUICE EXTRACTING MACHINE- Filed May 8, 1953 Z'Sheets-Sheet l Dec. 18, 1934. v H. c. WRIGHT MIXING AND JUICE EXTRACTING MACHINE Filed May 8, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Dec. 18, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Horace C. Wright, Chicago, 111., assignor to Chicago Flexible Shaft Company, Chicago, 111., a

corporation of Illinois Application May 8, 1933, Serial No. 669,874

8 Claims.

This invention relates to a combined mixer and juicer of the type wherein motor driven beater blades are supported within a rotatably mounted bowl, the motor being articulated on a stand for the positioning and removing of the bowl.

In devices of the character described, horizontal motors have been utilized in the past so that the juicer mechanism and the beater blades could be driven from permanently located driving connections, usually on opposite sides of the motor. However, for numerous reasons, the devices employing horizontal motors are expensive to manufacture and it is often preferable to utilize a vertically supported motor. Under these circumstances, when the heaters are located at the lower end of the motor and the juicer mechanism at the upper end of the motor, it is necessary that the juicer be supported at such an elevation that the mechanism becomes top heavybecause of the relatively high center of gravity. This condition is further aggravated on account of the character of the operations carried on in the juicer, it being necessary to apply a certain amount of pressure to press the fruit against the juicing attachment. The combination of the elevated position of the juicer attachment and the requirement that pressure be applied to the fruit tends to make the device very unstable in service. Furthermore, this arrangement is inconvenient because of the difference in elevation between the heaters and the juicer, since, if the device is positioned at a convenient elevation for the use of the heaters, the

' juicer will normally be too high for convenient use, and vice versa.

I have aimed to provide a combined mixer and juicer wherein the driving motor is movable on its longitudinal axis and carries separate driving connections for the mixing elements and for the juicer, means being provided for tilting the motor in the mixing function of the machine and carrying means for supporting the motor at a relatively high elevation for accomplishment of the mixing function and a low elevation for accomplishing the juicing function and for increasing the stability when the device is used in the latter function.

Another object of the invention is to provide improved means for releasably securing the motor to its support and for releasing the same therefrom.

Other objects and attendant advantages will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description and the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a side elevation of the mixer showing the motor in the mixing postion and tilted for the purpose of removing the bowl, the view also showing in dotted lines the normal mixing position of the parts;

Fig. 2 is a vertical section taken parallel with Figure 1 through the upper end of the pedestal "and the lower end of the motor, showing the hinge member in elevation;

Fig. 3 is a top view of the device with the motor in juicing position;

Fig. 4 isa side view of the device showing the parts in the juicing position; and

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary enlarged view of the motor support and latching mechanism.

Referring first to Figure 1, the device includes a stand consisting of a bowl supporting portion 7 and a vertically disposed pedestal 8. Feet 9 of resilient material are positioned on the bottom of the stand for resiliently supporting the same. The bowl supporting portion 7 has a plurality of openings 11 and12 for the reception of the pintle of a rotatable tray 13 shaped and positioned to support a bowl or bowls 14, the openings being spaced so as to position bowls of different sizes in operative relationship with the heaters in a manner known to the art; A hinge member 15 is rotatably supported on a pin 16 positioned in the upper end of the pedestal 8, the pedestal 8 being curved adjacent the pin 16, as shown at 1'7, to offset the pin from the vertical plane of the remainder of the pedestal.

A motor designated generally by the numeral 18 carries end castings 19 and 21 and has an intermediate body portion 22 within which is housed the motor proper. A flexible electrical conductor 23 carries current to the motor from a suitable source of supply and passes through the jaw portion 22, as shown at 24. Switch mechanism 25 is also supported in the body portion 22 and has a lever 26 rotatable for controlling the speed of the motor. A handle 27 is secured to the body 22 of the motor by means of a handle strap 28 and screws 29. Attached to the motor ,end plate 21 is a gear housing 31 having downwardly projecting sleeve bearings 32 and 33 through which pass driving elements 34 and 35 carrying sleeves 36 and 37 for the reception of shafts 38 and 39 of beater elements designated generally by the numerals 41 and 42. The gear housing 31 houses the necessary gears for the synchronous rotation of the driving elements 34 and 35. The body portion 22 of the motor has a semi-cylindrical shaft housing 43 which encloses a shaft extending from within the gear housing 81 to the end casting 19;

Referring now more particularly to Figs. 1 and 2, the gear housing 31 is provided on its lower side and at a point beneath the handle with a vertically extending socket 44, the side walls of which converge slightly, as shown in Fig. 2. Adjacent to this socket is an outwardly extending projection 45 which also serves to house a bearing 46 on the inside of the gear housing 31. Cooperating with the socket 44 and the projection 45 on the gear housing is a wedge-shaped attaching element 4'7 positioned on a ledge 48 of the hinge member 15, and a ledge 49 on the hinge member 15, a vertical abutment 51 joining the ledges 48 and 49 and forming an abutment for the projection 45. The opening 44 and connecting element 47 have cooperating side faces, so that the connecting element is closely received within the opening thereby preventing either lateral or rotative movement of the motor with respect to the pedestal and stand. The abutment 51 further prevents such rotative movement, and supplements the action of the connecting members. The side of the hinge member is provided with a recess forming opposed abutments 52 and 53, a latch lever 54 being pivotaliy supported in the recess on a pin 55. The latch lever is provided with a finger 56 arranged through rotation to engage a pin 57 on the side of the attaching element formed by the projection 45 and the socket 44. The latch lever is also provided with a cam portion 58 formed to rest below the surface of the ledge 48 when the finger 56 occupies a position engaging the pin 57. However, upon rotation of the latch lever in a clockwise direction facing Figure 1, the cam portion 58 is arranged to engage the overhanging portion of the gear housing and cause the motor to be lifted free of the attaching element 47. This action of the latch lever is shown to best advantage in Fig. 5. The screw 52, positioned in the upper end of the pedestal, contacts the hinge member 15 for the adjustment of the angular position of the hinge member and completes the cooperative relationship between the beater elements 41 and 42 and the bowl 14.

Referring now more" particularly to Fig. 4. the shaft in the shaft housing 43 terminates within a boss 61 on one side of the end casting 19 of the motor, and is arranged to receive in driving engagement the shaft of a juicer ball 62 positioned in a juicer bowl 63, which is secured on the top of the boss 61 by means of a flange 64 and bowl 65. The bowl 63 may, if desired, carry a spout 66 for discharging the juice in a suitably placed receptacle. The boss 61 also has a' socket 67 extending upward from the bottom thereof and having slightly converging side walls, the socket being substantially similar to the socket 44 and being also arranged for the reception of the wedge like attaching element 47, as shown in Fig. 5. This socket is, however, positioned at an angle of 45 with respect to the socket 44. The lower surface of the boss 61 also carries a projection 68 for engagement with the ledge 49 and the abutment 51. The boss 61 also has an overhanging edge at 69 for engagement of the cam face 58 of the latch lever 54.-

It will be seen that the sockets 44 and 67 provide attaching members complemental to the wedge-shaped attaching member 47, these two attaching members being at opposite ends of the motor 18. Thus. during the operation of the device in its mixing capacity, the connecting member 47 will engage the connecting member 44 at the lower end of the motor so that the driving elements 34 and 35 are sunlcientiy spaced from the bowl supporting portion 7 to permit the normal operation of the beater elements 41 and 42. However, when the device is used in its juicing capacity, the motor is removed from the pedestal and is lowered and rotated about its longi tudinal axis through a quarter turn forreception of the attaching element 4! in the socket 67. the beater shafts 38 and 39 being removed for this purpose. As shown in Fig. 4, this brings the driving elements 34 and 35 into close proximity with the bowl supporting portion '7, and greatly lowers the center of gravity of the whole device so that removal of the juice from the fruit may be accomplished in the bowl 63 without danger of tipping over the device. Furthermore, it will be observed that the juicer bowl 63 may be retained in place at all times, even during the mixing function of the device and only-the beater elements need be removed or replaced to convert the device from one function to the other. This is accomplished through the provision of independent driving connections for the beater elements and the juicer and by the arrangement of the parts in such a manner that they retain substantially the same operative relationship in both functions of the device with the exception of the change in elevation of the motor necessitated to alter the center of gravity.

Attention is directed to the improved means for attaching the motor to the pedestal. This means is such that by simply dropping the motor over the attaching element 47, the parts normally move under gravity into secured relationship. this relationship being such as to prevent both lateral and rotative movement between the parts. Furthermore, when the attaching element 47 occupies its position in the socket 44, movement of the lever 54 in a counterclockwise direction facing Figure 1 causes the same to latch over the pin 57. On the other hand, when the motor is to be removed from the attaching element 47, rotation of the lever in the opposite direction causes the cam face 58 to lift the motor slightly .so as to release and start the separation of the wedgeshaped attaching element 47 and either the socket 44 or 67, as the case might be. After this preliminary releasing of the two parts. the motor may be conveniently lifted from the pedestal.

It will be seen that because of this mechanism, 7 the above described operations may be carried out with speed and dispatch so that the operation becomes less difllcult and occupies a lesser amount of time.

It will be seen that during the mixing function of the device the motor may be rotated'on the pedestal so as to lift the mixing elements out of the bowl for the convenient replacement and removal-of the bowl on the tray 13, the motor attaching mechanism in no way interfering with the desired tilting of the motor on the pedestal.

While I have thus described and illustrated a specific embodiment of my invention, I am aware that numerous alterations and changes may be made therein without materially departing from the spirit of the invention, and I do not wish to be limited except as required by the prior art and the scope of the appended claims in which- I claim:

i. The combination in a combined mixer and juicer of a motor, a stand having a bowl supporting portion, a vertically disposed pedestal arranged to support the motor, and hinge means intermediate the ends of the pedestal for tilting the motor, an attaching element on the upper end of the pedestal, and attaching elements on the motor at the top and bottom thereof, said attaching elements being complementary to said attaching element on the pedestal and selectively cooperable with said attaching element without reversing the position of the motor to support the bowl-supprting portion for one type of operation,

- and a lower position in close proximity thereto for a different type of operation.

2. The combination in a combined mixer and juicer of a motor having a beater-driving connection at its lower end and a juicer-driving connection at its upper end, a beater beneath the motor for attachment to said beater-driving connection, a juice extractor above the motor for attachment to said juicer-driving connection, a stand having a bowl-supporting portion and a pedestal, a hinged member articulated on the pedestal for supporting the motor to tilt during its beating function, an attaching element on said hinged member, and attaching elements on the upper and lower ends respectively of the motor cooperable with the element on the hinged member for selectively supporting the motor in either an elevated mixing position by means of the lower attaching element with said beater-driving connection spaced from the bowl-supporting portion sufliciently to accommodate said beater in working position beneath the motor or a lower juicing position by means of the upper attaching element, with said juicer-driving connection lowered so as to operate the juice extractor in close proximity to said bowl-supporting portion.

3. The combination in a combined mixer and juicer of a motor, a stand including a vertically disposed pedestal having a hinged portion at the upper end thereof to support said motor, a gear box aflixed to the lower end of said motor and carrying beater-driving elements, a juicer carrying part at the upper end of said motor, attaching means on said gear box andsaid juicer-carrying part, and complementary attaching means on the pedestal operable between said hinged portion and either of the first mentioned attaching means without reversing the position of the motor for selectively supporting the motor on the pedestal in either an upper mixing position or a lower juicing position.

4. The combination in a combined mixer and juicer of a motor, a stand including a vertically disposed pedestal having a hinged portion at the upper end thereof to support said motor, a driving connection at the lower end of the motor operable in themixing function of the machine, a driving connection at the upper end of the motor operable in the juicing function thereof, and means for attaching either end of the motor to the hinged portion of the pedestal without reversing the position of the motor to selectively support the motor on the pedestal in either an upper mixing position or a lower juicing position.

5. A combined mixer and juicer having releasable beater blades depending from the lower end thereof and a juicer bowl supported on the upper end comprising a stand having a pedestal, a hinged member on the upper end ofthe pedestal articulated thereon, a motor having driving elements at its under side for driving the beater blades and a juicer driving element at its top, and means for supporting the motor on said hinged member in either an elevated mixing position or a lower juicing position without reversing the position of the motor comprising an attaching element carried by the hinged member, and attaching elements positioned one at the (top of the motor and another at the bottom thereof, the

attaching element on the hinge forming \with either of the motor attaching elements a quick detachable connection, the lower attaching element for supporting the motor in said elevated mixing position and the upper attaching element for supporting the motor in said lower juicing position when said heater blades are removed.

6. In a combined mixer and juicer having a motor and a stand including a pedestal hinged intermediate its ends for supporting said motor in tilting movement, attaching means comprising an attaching element carried by the upper end of the pedestal, a complementary attaching element on the motor, one of said elements having a socket provided with tapered side walls and the other of said elements having a wedgeshaped projection for reception in said socket, and latch means operating between the attaching means and the motor, said latch means being manually movable in one direction to latch the motor to the pedestal and prevent the separation thereof during the tilting of said motor and movable in the opposite direction to separate the projectionfrom the socket.

'7. In a combined mixer and juicer having a motor and a stand including a pedestal hinged intermediate its ends for supporting said motor in tilting movement, attaching means comprising an attaching element carried by the upper end of the pedestal, a complementary attaching element on the motor, one of said elements having a socket provided with tapered side walls and the other of said elements having a wedge-shaped projection for reception in said socket, and rotatable lever means carried by one of said elements movable in one direction to engage the opposite element to fix the socket and the projection together during the tilting operation of the motor and having a cam face arranged to bear against the opposed element upon movement in the opposite direction to separate the two attaching elements.

8. A combinedmixing and juice extracting machine comprising a motor unit having a beaterdriving connection at its lower end and a juicerdriving connection at its upper end, a beater beneath the motor unit for attachment to said beater-driving connection, a juice extractor above the motor unit for attachment to said juicerdriving connection, a stand having a bowl-supporting portion and a motor-supporting portion, means pivotally supporting the motor unit on said motor-supporting portion with the beater in a working position above said bowl-supporting portion, said means being pivotal to tilt the motor unit for moving the beater into and ,out of said working position, the connection between the motor unit and said pivoted means includin an attaching element on said pivoted means, and attaching elements on the motor unit one near the top thereof and the other near the bottom thereof adapted respectively for selective connection with the first mentioned attaching element, the motor unit being supported through the medium of its lower attaching element when carrying the beater in said working position and being supported through the medium of its upper attaching element when the heater is removed irom said working position, whereby the juice extractor is supported in a comparatively ldw position in close proximity to the said pivoted means.

' HORACE C. WRIGHT. 

